A Case-Study of Zāhirī legal Methodology by Camilla Adang
This article discusses the views of the theologian and legal scholar
Ibn Hazm of Cordoba (d. 456/1064) on homosexuality. Although reference
is made to his literary work Tawq al-hamāma, which is rich in anecdotes
on homoerotic attraction, the article focuses on Ibn Hazm's multivolume
legal tract Kitāb al-Muhallā, a work
written from a Zāhirī, or literalist perspective. A step-by-step
analysis of Ibn Hazm's legal reasoning on homosexuality, both male
(liwāt) and female (sihāq) is provided, and comparisons with the views
of other jurist, especially Mālikis, are made. Unlike his Maliki
contemporaries, Ibn Hazm holds that homosexuality is not to be equated
with fornication (zinā), which incurs the death penalty. Instead, he
advocates a relatively mild punishment of up to ten lashes for
homosexual practices, based upon his idiosyncratic interpretation of the
revealed sources which is illustrated here. Although Ibn Hazm is
believed by some modern authors to have had homosexual leanings himself,
he categorically condemns sexual contacts between members of the same
sex as immoral and sinful, and believes that homosexuals should be
reformed.
Live Music Archive
Librivox Free Audio
Metropolitan Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Internet Arcade
Console Living Room
Books to Borrow
Open Library
TV News
Understanding 9/11
